Sunday Toughie No 117 by
Robyn
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 21st of April 2024
Across
9a DHL disheartened about unskilled kind of delivery (5)
DRAWL: Not crickety as I first thought, but rather a manner of delivery of speech. Remove the heart of the delivery company D(h)L, and put it about a synonym of unskilled RAW
10a Detective’s receiving boost investigating faults etc (9)
TECTONICS: Abbreviated detective’s TEC’S, receive a boost that you may add to your gin TONIC. Geological faults are investigated in TECTONICS
11a Erroneously catch some hoodlum — is he arrested? (7)
MISHEAR: A lurker (some) hidden in the rest of the clue
12a Preparing the ground in time, I’m going to get older (7)
TILLAGE: T for time, a contraction of I’m going to I’LL and to get older AGE, define a farmer’s soil preparations TILLAGE
13a Kid might utter one line, boring Trump (5)
BLEAT: To trump at a card game perhaps BEAT, around an abbreviation of line L, BLEAT the utterance of a young goat or kid
14a Mixture of ethanol is in a drop of the hard stuff? (9)
HAILSTONE: Not whisky more weather, an anagram (mixture of) of ETHANOL IS Rain so cold it has frozen solid HAILSTONE
16a One may care for canines barking in lengthiest day (6,9)
DENTAL HYGIENIST: Another anagram (barking) of IN LENGTHIEST DAY They care for canines molars and incisors
19a University head’s covering security devices (4,5)
YALE LOCKS: A specific (American) university YALE, and the head’s covering that most of us still have LOCKS of hair
21a Decaying matter Mike extracted from dip (5)
HUMUS: Remove one of the code letters that Mike suggests from a mushy chickpea dip HUMMUS, to leave the decaying matter found in a compost heap HUMUS
23a Kind of road test including some information (7)
ORBITAL: A spoken test ORAL, includes a small “piece” or BIT of information The M25 being such an ORBITAL ring road
25a What Napoleon stands on is tail of desert rat? (7)
TROTTER: COTD for me when the penny dropped. A fictional Napoleon’s limb from an Orwellian 20d from a tail letter T and a rat or cad ROTTER. Napoleon the pig in George Orwell’s Animal Farm stood on TROTTERs
27a Returned outfit from Madrid without reporting to cleaner (9)
LAUNDERER: One of the football teams from REAL Madrid is reversed LA_ER (returned) around (without) a subordinate who may report to you UNDER
28a For eavesdroppers, supposed one receives hospitality (5)
GUEST: A homophone (for eavesdroppers) of a synonym of supposed GUESSED becomes GUEST
Down
1d First half of Eliot novel in the first person? (4)
ADAM: I am going to call this an all-in-one as I seem to recall this novel was written in the first person. The first half of George Eliot’s first novel ADAM BEDE, is also the name of the first person ever ADAM
2d Harry Styles less content drilling well (6)
HASSLE: A synonym of well (usually with hearty) HALE, contains what remains of Mr StyleS without his content
3d Large bed: article carried by everyone round building (6,4)
ALBERT HALL: L for large, a bed on a ship perhaps BERTH, and the indefinite article A, surrounded by everyone or ALL The Royal A(L)BERT H(A)LL
4d Cause of stiffness in lead taps (6)
STARCH: The lead in a dramatic or cinematic performance STAR, and both of the abbreviations that taps may bear C and H
5d Small round object is very sharp (8)
SCATHING: S for small, one of our usual round or abouts CA, and an object THING, are an adjective for scornfully critical SCATHING
6d Daydreamers gather this court official’s back (4)
WOOL: To court for the romantic affection of WOO, and the back letter of official L. Daydreamers or WOOL gatherers
7d One with weight put on, after capital Italian food (8)
RIGATONI: A Baltic Capital RIGA, a heavy weight TON, and the letter that looks like one I. RIGATONI a type of pasta found in Italian food
8d Guides in uniform and that lady upset me (10)
USHERETTES: The letter that uniform suggests U, an adjective for that lady SHE, and a reversal (upset) of how Robyn (me) refers to his vocation as a cruciverbalist SETTER become RETTES
13d Crickets played with this individual little flower on edges of dewy shrub (5,5)
BUDDY HOLLY: A nascent flower BUD, the edges of dewy DY, and a prickly shrub HOLLY, BUDDY HOLLY who performed with his band The Crickets
15d Concealing nothing, almost get angry and violent (3-7)
SEE-THROUGH: Almost all of a word that means to get angry SEETH(e) and a synonym for violent or harsh ROUGH Concealing nothing or SEE-THROUGH
17d European wearing nothing indecent in the shade (4,4)
NILE BLUE: A synonym of nothing NIL, the abbreviation of European E, and an indecent joke or image BLUE, define a shade or hue that is also a stain used in biology and histology
18d People who break forcefully into others’ addresses? (8)
HECKLERS: Those who forcefully interrupt the addresses of comedians, politicians or other performers
20d Cross after student’s expelled for ridicule (6)
SATIRE: The cross on a Scottish flag SALTIRE, expels a student L. To ridicule or SATIRE
22d Servants carrying paper — Times is something on hand (6)
MITTEN: A national newspaper the i and two of the letters that times suggest TT, go into some male servants MEN, for one of a pair of hand protectors
24d Picked up tea and rum for really bad hairdresser (4)
TODD: A really bad London hairdresser who murdered his customers and baked them into pies. A homophone of tea T, and a synonym of rum ODD
26d Gospel needs no introduction — it’s part of the Bible (4)
RUTH: With a lower case gospel is an informal absolute “fact” TRUTH. That synonym, without its introductory letter is part of the Bible that is not one of the Gospels RUTH